Pristina, April 24, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, was today the key speaker at the first STEMinists conference, organized by the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) under the patronage of the Office od the Prime Minister.
At the opening of the conference, which is dedicated to the importance of the participation of girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, i.e. the STEM field, Prime Minister Kurti said that despite the barriers, and often against the odds, women and girls have made a valuable contribution in the development of science and technology, in these areas, which historically have neither been welcomed nor appreciated.
“Some discoveries of women are known and some were never known to be theirs. Despite all the work and commitment of women pioneers, they are still underrepresented, unrepresented, but even unknown at times. Of course in each case, unfairly”, he said, adding that not only as feminists, but now also as STEMists, it is our duty to advocate and commit to the inclusion and participation of girls and women in STEM and work for a society and state, where every person, regardless of gender, has the opportunity to follow their dreams.
Careers in STEM fields offer tremendous opportunities. With more girls in these fields, we can help close the gender wage gap and give them the tools to achieve economic independence. But, beyond personal gain, as the Prime Minister said, it affects the improvement of society in countless ways, solving complex problems, developing technologies, new medical treatments, sustainable energy solutions and promoting economic growth. Also, he emphasized that by empowering girls to participate in these fields, we ensure that they are participants in shaping the future, which does not recognize gender.
Given that girls and women have historically been excluded from scientific fields, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that this exclusion has had negative impacts on the progress of human society. “Now we are at the time when the fourth industrial revolution is considered, and every day we are seeing new technological developments that serve equal gender representation. We must encourage women and girls to pursue careers in these fields, reducing the gender gap. This is not only a question of equality, but also economic and social”, he said.
The active participation of girls and women in STEM fields is about equality and justice. Every person, regardless of gender, deserves equal opportunity and treatment in all aspects of life, including education and career choice. This is also about innovation and progress. Diverse perspectives and ideas are essential if we are to solve the complex problems facing the world. By including girls and women, increasing diversity in STEM, we ensure we are tapping the full range of human talent and creativity.
The policy for girls and women in STEM has already been introduced as a new policy and for the first time by our government. In the first year of government, more than 1,000 girls and women studying in STEM fields were supported with over 1 million euros, while in the second, the financial support for these fields was doubled, i.e. to 2 million euros. In total, during these two years, a total of 2,748 girls studying in STEM fields were supported with 1,000 euros per year. This is the first year of hosting the STEM Conference. The present is part of the Government’s annual calendar and will be held every year in the last week of April.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Honorable Deputy Prime Minister Emilija Rexhepi,
Honorable Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mrs. Arbërie Nagavci,
Honorable Minister for Communities and Returns, Mr. Nenad Rashiq,
Honorable Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Bardhyl Dobra,
Honorable Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mrs. Edona Maloku Bërdyna,
Honorable Rector of the University of Pristina, Professor Qerim Qerimi,
Honorable United Nations Development Coordinator Mrs. Arnhild Spence,
Honorable Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Kosovo, Your Excellency, Mr. Antonello De Riu,
Honorable academic staff of the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Honorable students,
Honorable ladies and gentlemen,
Honorable Stemminists,
Welcome to this study space, at the opening of this conference, which is dedicated to the importance of the participation of girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, i.e. the STEM field.
Despite the barriers, and often against the odds, women and girls have made a valuable contribution to the development of science and technology, in these areas, which have historically been neither welcomed nor appreciated. Some discoveries of women are known and some were never known to be theirs. Despite all the work and commitment of women pioneers, they are still underrepresented, unrepresented, but even unknown at times. Of course, in each case, unfairly.
Not only as feminists, but now also as stemminists, it is our duty to advocate and commit to the inclusion and participation of girls and women in STEM and to work for a society and state where every person, regardless of gender, has the opportunity to pursue their dreams.
Careers in STEM fields offer tremendous opportunities. With more girls in these fields, we can help close the gender wage gap and give them the tools to achieve economic independence. But beyond personal gain, it affects society in countless ways, solving complex problems, developing technologies, new medical treatments, sustainable energy solutions, and promoting economic growth. By empowering girls to participate in these fields, we ensure that they are participants in shaping the future, which does not recognize gender.
Girls and women have historically been excluded from scientific fields. This exclusion has had negative impacts on the progress of human society. Now we are at the time when the fourth industrial revolution is considered, and every day we are seeing new technological developments that serve equal gender representation. We must encourage women and girls to pursue careers in these fields, reducing the gender gap. This is not only a question of equality, but also economic and social.
Beyond inequality in numbers and statistics, the lack of representation of women and girls has real consequences. By excluding half the population from participating in these areas, we lose valuable perspectives, creativity and the ability to solve shared problems. Furthermore, when girls and women are excluded from STEM fields, harmful gender stereotypes are perpetuated and the mistaken idea that some professions are “for men” and others “for women” is reinforced. This affects the choices girls make about their future careers, as well as society’s attitudes towards gender roles.
The active participation of girls and women in STEM fields is about equality and justice. Every person, regardless of gender, deserves equal opportunity and treatment in all aspects of life, including education and career choice. This is also about innovation and progress. Diverse perspectives and ideas are essential if we are to solve the complex problems facing the world. By including girls and women, increasing diversity in STEM, we ensure we are tapping the full range of human talent and creativity.
Ladies and gentleman,
The policy for girls and women in STEM has been introduced as a new policy and for the first time by our government. In the first year of government, more than 1,000 girls and women studying in STEM fields were supported with over 1 million euros, while in the second, the financial support for these fields was doubled, i.e. to 2 million euros. In total, during these two years, a total of 2,748 girls studying in STEM fields were supported with 1,000 euros per year.
Now, in the third year of expanding this policy, we are going beyond financial support in education and coming up with the STEM Program. This program aims to increase the participation of girls and women in STEM fields, by increasing support and providing opportunities for practical experience. But also practical experience should be followed by professional development, mentoring and industry connections. Today we are marking the first event in this direction: The STEMinists conference, which is deliberately placed between two global dates: International Day of Girls in Science and on the eve of International Day of Girls in Information and Communication Technology.
With this conference today, we are putting on the annual calendar of the Government of Kosovo the First Conference for STEM at the state level, which from now on will be held every year in the last week of April.
This conference aims to gather once a year in a comprehensive forum key institutional actors at the central and local level, representatives from the fields of science, technology, economy and industry, with the aim of critical discussion of challenges and opportunities. We want to prove that science and democracy are not mutually exclusive.
Naming this initiative as ‘STEMiniste’ (so as an adaptation of ‘Feministe’) conveys the message of the Government’s commitment to promoting gender equality through STEM. In a forum like this today, I hope that through multilateral discussion, analysis of professional experiences and challenges, especially of women in STEM and the needs of institutions and industry, we will come up with concrete recommendations that will substantially help the development of the STEM Program.
Therefore, I invite you to actively contribute your experience and ideas to a qualitative discussion, exchange of experiences and networking, with the aim of ensuring greater social and economic progress for our country, the Republic of Kosovo.
We all believe that everyone should enjoy equal rights, but we as the Government are committed to our work, so that in our society we all have equal opportunities. For this reason, we have made public education free for the bachelor’s and master’s level. We have awarded over 3,000 scholarships to distinguished students for studies at home and abroad. 106 scholarships to encourage girls to pursue technical profiles and to encourage boys to pursue deficit profiles. We distributed 957 vouchers for vocational school graduates to attend information technology courses; textbooks in the languages of all the communities that live in our country and 150,000 euros for scholarships for students from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The government and our development partners are currently engaged in training more than 3,500 young people in various areas of Information and Communication Technology. ICT in our country has great potential. Last month we achieved full coverage of residential areas with broadband internet infrastructure.
Scientific progress also requires an innovative ecosystem which will provide the necessary infrastructure and links between education, research and innovation. Our government has engaged in several initiatives. In cooperation with the German government, we are continuing to invest in the Innovation and Training Park in Prizren, while soon we will also inaugurate the Digital Technology Park in Bërnica, here in the suburbs of Prishtina.
At the end of last year, we inaugurated the Kosovo Research and Education Network (KREN). Through the implementation of KREN, Kosovo has also joined the largest pan-European academic network GÉANT.
About a year ago, we became a member of Horizon Europe. We have recently completed negotiations to join a very important program of the European Union, Digital Europe. These memberships provide additional opportunities to apply for research projects funded by these programs.
We are currently piloting the Kosovo Research Information System (KRIS), which will support research through an interconnected infrastructure, increased funding and local and international collaboration in scientific projects.
Dear students,
Your unwavering commitment to your dreams and aspirations, with love for knowledge and for humanity, even in the face of structural barriers erected over generations, increases our determination to destroy them and to build together an even fairer and more equal future.
Thank you!
Last modified: April 27, 2023